Third Sunday of Easter 2017

She
thought ‘he’s the one’ – she adored her father, he was wise, strong, kind, she loved to spend time with him, fixing her
bicycle, tending the garden, exploring his library. So she was surprised when
his career seemed to stall, and saddened when his impatience, and his drinking,
seemed to increase. In the end she was glad to escape to university.

Where
she thought ‘he’s the one’ – she adored her professor, he was bright,
charismatic, innovative, the founder of a new political movement, breaking the
mould, offering a future. She demonstrated with him, campaigned for him, sacrificed
her time, her degree for the cause that was slowly, ruthlessly, undermined and
blocked by the powers that be, that always will be. In the end she was glad to
escape to the city.

Where
she thought ‘he’s the one’ – she adored her boss, he was brilliant,
adventurous, fascinating, inviting her to share his world, to share his flat. She
was bewitched, betrothed and then gradually bewildered, as his work
proved more compelling than his new wife, whom he seemed to take for
granted, unable or unwilling to respond
to the way she was changing, In the end she was glad to escape – but to where…?

Where
do you place your hope? Who is the one? Is yours a surfer’s life - you pick the
wave, you enjoy the ride and then you suffer the crash, stranded on the beach
as the water retreats. Cleopas and his friend in today’s gospel had thought
that Jesus was the one. They had followed, listened, committed: our own hope had been that he would be the
one to set Israel free. But his death had brought everything crashing down,
& now they had to pick themselves up, and hope for another, better wave. In
the end they were glad to escape Jerusalem.

But
this stranger who walked with them didn’t seem to understand. He tried to
explain to them about suffering, that the Messiah had to suffer, that suffering
could become the road to glory. Does that make sense to you? Or do you look for
someone who will spare you any suffering who will envelop you like the perfect
father, who will inspire you like the perfect leader, who will captivate you
like the perfect lover? And so you begin an endless quest for ‘the one’, you
enter a never-ending circle of promise and disappointment

Those
two men escaping Jerusalem discovered a deeper truth. The circle is broken by
the cross. A circle goes endlessly round on itself. A cross seems like two
clashing lines, but they open up in an infinite expansion, like the 4 points of
the compass. That cross broke open their closed hearts. Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road? And
the cross broke open their closed eyes - it was when he broke the bread, that
they finally recognised him as The One, the one they had thought a failure.

Your
faith is not a contract against failure: it’s not - ‘if I believe, God will
ensure me a successful life. And if that does not happen, then I no longer believe.’
Faith is not a contract - it is a vocation,
a partnership. If you die with Christ, you
will live with Christ. Faith does not insulate you from suffering, it is
the path through suffering to the glory beyond.
That is easy for a comfortable monk to say. It is not easy for an
anxious teenager to live out, when your family neglects you, when your school
burdens you, when you doubt or even hate yourself.

It
is only possible if the scriptures are explained to you, if the bread is broken
for you. When you meet for Lectio, you can begin to hear the voice of Jesus.
When you gather for Mass you can begin to recognise the face of Jesus. When you
want to escape, listen for that voice, look for that face and the road to
Emmaus can become the road back to Jerusalem.

No
single person can be ‘The One’ - no parent, no leader, no lover. Because
ultimately you are meant for a different one, the one who enables you to love
the many in your life - at home, at work, at play. We can talk to you about
values, about principles, but ultimately there is a very simple question – is
Jesus The One?